China-Trinidad and Tobago Jointly Launch Flagship 'Belt and Road' Cooperation Project

On January 10th, the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Keith Rowley, delivered a speech at the opening ceremony of the Phoenix Industrial Park located at the Point Lisas Port 

As China and the Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago celebrate the 50^th anniversary of their diplomatic relations, the flagship project of the China-Trinidad and Tobago cooperation under the "Belt and Road" initiative, the Phoenix Industrial Park, officially opened on the January, 10^th.

The opening ceremony was attended by over 300 people, including the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Keith Rowley, Foreign Minister Amery Browne, Minister of Trade and Industry Paula Gopee-Scoon, Chinese Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago Fang Qiu, and representatives from the business communities of both countries.

In Rowley's speech at the opening ceremony, he said that the traditional friendship between Trinidad and Tobago and China is deep, and the two countries have long engaged in close and friendly cooperation. As the "most modern industrial park" in Trinidad and Tobago and even in the Caribbean region, the Phoenix Industrial Park is a result of the China-Trinidad and Tobago cooperation under the "Belt and Road" initiative, and a symbol of the flourishing bilateral relations.

Fang Qiu stated that the official opening of the Phoenix Industrial Park is another milestone in the history of China-Trinidad and Tobago relations, marking a leap from trade and infrastructure construction to industrial alignment in cooperation. The park will play an innovative, demonstrative, and leading role in pragmatic cooperation between the two countries, as well as in the economic development of Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean region. China is willing to work together with Trinidad and Tobago to build the Phoenix Industrial Park as a "nest to attract the phoenix," continuously expanding cooperation in manufacturing, investment, digital economy, green development, and other areas.

Located at the Point Lisas Port, the second-largest port in Trinidad and Tobago, the Phoenix Industrial Park is positioned as a high-value-added, environmentally friendly light industrial park, aligning with the government's development strategy of reducing dependence on oil and gas resources and actively promoting economic diversification. Completed in July 2023, the park covers an area of about 580,000 square meters and is the first comprehensive, intelligent industrial park in the Caribbean region with 5G network coverage. It is understood that 18 companies have signed contracts to settle in the Phoenix Industrial Park, including 4 Chinese-funded enterprises.

Author: Zhu Wanjun，Xuan Liqi

Source: <https://www.yidaiyilu.gov.cn/p/0B0SMJ9V.html>

Translated by LiWei